1976 — Page 95

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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

Page 95 of 135

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ADDRESS BY CHAIRMAN

CHAIRMAN (in English):-Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. We will continue the debate on the "Statement of Aims for 1977" adjourned from Tuesday.

MISS CECILIA L. Y. YEUNG (in Cantonese): -Mr. Chairman, I have learned much from the impressive speeches made by my senior col- leagues during this Annual Conventional Debate. It is my pleasure to have been able to work with you all in planning for the development of the various sections of the Council in the past years. Indeed, it is encouraging to see that we have made so much noteworthy achievement within our limited authority. The Asian Arts Festival held recently drew a great number of tourists and performers from various parts of the world to Hong Kong. It was unprecedented in the local history, providing the people here with a wide variety of audio-visual entertain- ments. But we should not rest on our laurels and should not aim at going a step forward only. We hope to achieve more in an atmosphere of unity. Some outsiders think that each Urban Councillor minds only his or her own business and works after his or her own purposes. “Dr. HUANG brought this forward yesterday. He felt that the Elected Councillors should examine themselves and try to achieve unity. I admire him for being so straight-forward. Another point is that he brought up the question of division in the Council. I must admit that those who are bigoted in their views makes it difficult for us to agree with them." I am confident that under the capable leadership of Mr. Chairman, the Council will achieve better results and higher efficiency, provided we can work hand in glove with each other. I am proud that I am able to take part in its work.

The work of the Council has been expanding steadily and is a far cry from that during the period when it was under the name of "Sanitary Board". The best way to justify our claim for more power is to show others that we are capable and efficient. The Urban Council is, no doubt, the only body in Hong Kong with a small degree of democracy and it is hoped that this will lead to the reform of the Executive and Legislative Councils in which there is still no elected representative. If this materializes then we can get rid of our nick name of “a show window for democracy".

In the Annual Conventional Debate to-day, I am going to put forth the following proposals, which, I hope, will be given serious consideration by Mr. Chairman, and due support by my fellow Councillors. Due to an announcement by the Government that rates

will be re-assessed, much anxiety resulted. I believe the Council should have a say in deciding on the ratio. If the Council has a share in the rates, I believe that the Council could try to get revenue from other sources to meet her expenditure. I have the following proposals:

(a) The Council should actively participate in reclamation pro- gramme. This will not only help boost the prosperity of Hong Kong and improve the appearance of the urban areas but will also enable us to embark on a planned construction programme. As far as I can remember, Mr. Chairman has made a similar suggestion recently. According to the estima- tion of Mr. H. R. A. CHAMBERLAIN, Chief Engineer of the Port Works Division, Public Works Department, the average cost for reclaiming one acre of land is HK$1 million, which means $22.90 per sq. ft., basing the calculation on the fact that 1 acre is equal to 43,560 sq. ft. According to recent auction records, the Crown land at Tuen Mun has been sold at $208.50 per square foot, almost ten times the cost of reclama- tion. This is only the market price in rural areas. In urban areas or adjoining districts, the income derived from such sale should be much more. If the Council gets involved in plan- ning for the reclamation of bay areas, not only can it recover the cost from proceeds of part of the reclaimed land by auction, but can also earmark certain part for its own develop- ment purposes. The Council should therefore take the sugges- tion into consideration when preparing its budget.

(b) In view of the fact that staff working in some Government departments and large private organizations are provided with quarters, I suggest that we should give housing allowance to our staff to assist them in solving the housing problem. With the exception of the land-owner class, the majority of the population here especially the lower-middle class consider housing problem as a big headache. Since the Council is dedicated to work for the benefit of the people of Hong Kong, why is it that our staff alone are being left out? There is a Chinese saying which goes like this, "The lantern on the flag- staff brightens not the foot of the staff but its surrounding area. Ironical enough, it applies to us. It is of course impossible for us to build staff quarters now with our existing resources. So I suggest that provisions should be included in the budget for the next financial year for the introduction of a scheme, under which housing allowances would be payable to our staff commensurate with their salaries to enable them to get a decent place to live. I hope that my honourable Friends will

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